Leid Stories

What a week. It's not yet over, but you can talk about it, or most anything you wish. Because it's "Free Your Mind Friday" on Leid Stories, and you get to take the conversation where you want it to go.

Have a strong opinion about an issue? Here's your chance to prove your point. But don't be surprised if someone challenges you.

Trump's Re-election Campaign Will Herald "True (White-Supremacist) American Values" and the Glory of the South 

A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found that a whopping 80 percent of the people it polled felt that the United States was "out of control." Only 15 percent found the situation not so extreme.

(Keep in mind that a lot was happening nationally at the time the poll was taken.)

But the seeming popular indictment of President Trump and his administration could change in the coming weeks, as Trump ramps up his re-election campaign with a series of rallies that will once again call on his troops to defend the sacred South and "true" (white-supremacist) "American" values. 

Will Trump recover his base of support?

Still dealing with and reeling from social, political, economic and pandemic catastrophies that have beset us, the nation nonetheless is trying to get back on its feet and reclaim lost ground. For most it's a major struggle, and far from easy--especially when politics plays a major role in just about everything and right now, in election season, the only thing.

Leid Stories asks callers: Is it possible to develop community power without allegiance to or control of party politics?

We continue our discussion about the extraordinary,  tumultuous, past week we experienced as a nation, and the significant issues and developments the week unleashed.

Today, George Floyd, 46, whose May 25 torture killing by a Minneapolis police detail ignited massive global protests, will be buried in Houston.

Looking Back At the Week That Was, And Looking Ahead

Callers are asked to identify the most significant issues and developments of the past week, and to what degree they think their analysis reflects a broader

view.

Say It As You See It, Then Hear the Sparks Fly!

It's "Free Your Mind Friday" on Leid Stories our weekly open forum where we dispense with our regular format and leave it up to you to take the conversation whever you want it to go, with a topic of your choosing. But you've must have a strong opinion about it, whatever you choose to talk about. Others may want to challenge you, so you'll want to be quite clear. We like when you dazzle us with solid reasoning and prove your point.

Call 888-875-4888 to free your mind.

The topic was, "A Senate Hearing's Focus: ‘Unstable,’ ‘Volatile’ Trump and His Sole Power Over Nuclear Weapons."

"The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing yesterday that, though understated, was explosive in its import. The hearing’s focus: What measures are in place, or need to be in place, to check President Donald Trump’s sole authority to use nuclear weapons?" the program description read.

"It’s not accidental that the issue is being raised now, the description noted. “We are concerned that the president of the United States is so unstable and is so volatile … that he might order a nuclear weapon strike that is so wildly out of step with U.S. national security interests,” Mother Jones’s David Corn reported committee member Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) as saying.

Leid Stories says it also is significant that Trump’s mental state is being tied to official policy."

Looking at Trump's role in recent and current matters, Leid Stories asserts that Congress appears to have abandoned its own mandate. It must be brought to account.

Call 888-874-4888 to join our live discussion and to share your views.

We pick up from where we left off with yesterday's discussion, which generated a lot of phone traffic. We're adding another day to accommodate those who didn't get a word in edgewise yesterday, and thank everyone for being so gracious. Thank you!

Trump Revamps Trump. From What to What Else?

Hounded by his inept handling and outright dismissal of myriad crises and catastrophes, President Donald Trump has come to (been made to?) understand that his re-election to a second term is not at all a sure thing. So, he's revamping. 

In recent weeks, Trump's been making a great effort to revamp and rebrand, but from what to what?--or, more intriguingly, from what to what else?

Leid Stories listeners discuss Trump's constantly shifting focus as he tries to earn his credits as America's greatest, richest, most politically astute, most popular and accomplished president.

Will his born-again revamp work?

A Week That Shook the Nation

Much of nation is on edge, hoping that the still-being-finalized homegoing services for George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man tortured and killed in a violent police arrest in Minneapolis on Monday, will respect the family's wishes for dignity and calm.

In the immediate aftermath of Floyd's death, the city of Minneapolis and several cities across the country, exploded with rage when none of four officers was arrested for crimes they allegedly committed during Floyd's arrest that directly contributed to his death.

The most egregious of these was when the lead officer, aided by others, kept Floyd totally incapicitated by kneeling on his neck for almost nine  minutes. He ignored Floyd's desperate pleas for air, as well witnesses imploring him not to continue  ill-treating Floyd, who by then had collapsed and was not breathing. 

Only after public protest were all four officers fired, although only one is now facing charges. Derek Chauvin, who appeared to be the leader of the team who kept his knee on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes now faces first-degree murder charges.

Reaction was immediate and intense, touching off violent violent protests in several cities.

What will be the outcome of this case? Was violent protest necessary? Will police conduct toward people (especially men) of color improve?